Talk:Orvietan

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[edit] Expansion

I need to comb through the Italian site once more - some spicy details still are missing in the current article. ---Sluzzelin 17:18, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 'True Orvietan' discovered by Cornelius à Tilbury

Ran across this:

But these nostrums were insignificant in comparison with the 'True Orvietan' discovered by Cornelius à Tilbury and sold by His Majesty's special licence. Cornelius, a worthy descendant of that Alexander of Abonuteichos immortalized by the satire of Lucian, set a high standard in his profession. According to his own account he swallowed a large dose of poison in the royal presence and then took a dose of his Orvietan, with such satisfactory results that Charles appointed him one of his surgeons-in‐ ordinary (presumably without salary). Nor was royal patronage the only advantage which Cornelius could boast over his rivals; because his remedy could be used for the diseases of cattle as well as of human beings, and as it stifled poison, so it must stifle disease. Ogg, David (1934). England in the Reign of Charles II 1, p. 110. 

for Cornelius' account of his demonstration to Charles II, a footnote points to an unpublished (in 1934) manuscript from the Bodleian Library, Oxford, Asmhole, xxii which might now be available online. Is this the Orvietan we're looking for, or a latter imitation?—eric 20:25, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

I think he might have been one of the many quacks in the business, but probably not among the first pioneers. This genealogy site suggest that he lived during the late 17th and early 18th century. I think he should be worked into the article though. ---Sluzzelin 20:45, 16 February 2007 (UTC)